The COVID crisis has worsened the plight of the state’s most vulnerable hospitals.

When the doors closed at Cuthbert’s Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center (SGRMC) last month, Randolph County lost more than a hospital. Jobs and one of its few remaining lures for economic growth disappeared along with the ability to treat patients close to home.

“Rural hospitals are vital parts of the communities they serve,” says SGRMC’s former CEO Kim Gilman, “and when they close, those communities suffer lasting negative impacts.”

The 25-bed critical access hospital had been struggling for years, even with help from the Phoebe Putney Health System, which managed it for the county’s hospital authority. But the COVID crisis did it in.

“COVID-19 reshaped our healthcare delivery model overnight,” says Gilman, who also serves as CEO at Phoebe Worth Medical Center in Sylvester. “The reality of the virus and its impact were far worse than we could have imagined. COVID-19 truly exposed our vulnerabilities as a rural hospital – related to our minimal staffing structure, limited physicians, limited supplies on hand and our aging facilities.”

The very same month Cuthbert lost its hospital, Commerce lost Northridge Medical Center, a 90-bed facility. They were the eighth and ninth rural hospitals to close in Georgia since 2010.

“These hospitals had been in bad shape for quite some time,” says Monty Veazey, president and CEO of Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, an advocacy group for not-for-profit facilities.

“Unfortunately, there are probably eight to 10 others across the state that are on life support, too, having a tough time meeting payroll, a tough time meeting the need for capital projects,” like renovations, improvements, even a new roof.

Complex Challenges

Most of Georgia’s 72 rural hospitals are struggling. Revenue from an affiliated nursing home, outpatient clinic or rehab center helps many, but that isn’t always enough. Some larger rural hospitals, like Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas, are helped by elective surgeries; but that avenue isn’t open to all.

“We have ongoing issues we can’t control,” Veazey says, “such as a declining population, an aging population, an uninsured population, which has been increased because of COVID and the resulting unemployment that means many who had health insurance lost it.” This is compounded by a high Medicaid rate, since payments from Medicaid – and Medicare – are less than those from private insurers.

“What you see in these communities [is] generational poverty,” Veazey says, “where some who need to go to the hospital do not have transportation – that’s a big issue.” So is a lack of doctors, especially specialists. “You combine all of those together, and you’ve got a crisis on your hands,” he says, even before the COVID crisis brought more, typically sicker, patients.

“Everything is complex and has been for a while,” says Chuck Adams, executive vice president of the Georgia Hospital Association who heads its Center for Rural Health. “COVID added to that complexity with all our hospitals, but especially rural hospitals because so many of them operate on such a thin margin.”

Overall, he says, federal money made available during the pandemic from the CARES Act and other programs has been a tremendous help, “nothing that has made them flush, but able to maintain, keeping the hospitals paying their bills, keeping their staff.”

There has been help from the state, too, during the crisis, notably when the Georgia Emergency Management Agency stepped in with assistance in staffing. Coffee Regional President and CEO Vicki Lewis calls that “a godsend.”

Adams says some hospitals may have bought some time with the federal funds, but it wasn’t sufficient to fix their long-term problems. “The challenge on the back side of that,” he says, “some of the money has payback provisions. Instead of grants, they were loans. While it’s helped them get through or get to this point, when the payback provisions start kicking in, things like that are going to impact them on the back end as well.”

Rural hospitals have been feeling the squeeze since the 1990s. As far as their ultimate survival, Adams says, it depends on a couple of things: “How quick they can ramp back up volume and get a revenue increase or how they can get some help either to partner with some other facility or get local government help. We’ve seen that before, where counties have stepped in and helped with some financing for hospitals. We know we’ve got a lot of counties that are financially struggling as well. How much can you get out of a county government that has the same problems the hospital is having?”

Jimmy Lewis, CEO of HomeTown Health, a network of rural healthcare providers and organizations, says hospitals were ill prepared for a pandemic. In addition to personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages, capacity and staffing were out of sync. “Hospitals were overwhelmed by bed consumption, and [in some cases we] had the crazy situation we had available beds but no skilled services to man the hospitals to provide care. July and August and the first part of September, we had real problems,” he says.

But there is no doubt the government’s infusion of cash saved patients’ lives, he says.

Downward Spiral

In Cuthbert, Gilman says “a sparse and declining local population” in a very poor county was a major factor in the SGRMC closing. Randolph County has a population of 6,700 that is projected to decline another 12% in the coming years. The poverty rate is nearly 31%, and the number of uninsured patients is high.

“Fewer insured patients equates to less available cash,” Gilman says. “There’s not enough available cash to invest in needed infrastructure, building improvements, equipment, or staffing recruitment and pay increases, and barely enough to cover day-to-day operations.”

Engineering reports showed that the Cuthbert hospital needed more than $10 million in improvements, but the hospital authority was unable to secure funding.

“Health issues and consumer choices don’t support a facility where the building and its infrastructure are failing and where [patients] know they’ll not be able to obtain all the care they need due to gaps in equipment, technology and the services offered,” Gilman says. “Once patients begin seeking care from other places, the sources of cash are even more negatively impacted, and the downward spiral just continues.”

It’s no secret that SGRMC was able to hang on as along as it did because of Phoebe’s help, including no-interest loans and some services provided for no cost. The hospital authority paid only $5,000 a year in management fees, substantially lower than other hospitals pay for similar services elsewhere.

Federal money from the CARES Act helped but could not go toward physical plant needs. A hospital management company’s assessment confirmed that the model was not sustainable. Ultimately, Gilman says, the difficult decision to close the hospital was made.

Remaining Viable

In Douglas, Coffee Regional is facing difficulties, but is clearly in better shape than many other rural hospitals. “We’ve been dealt a better hand,” says Vicki Lewis of the 88-bed facility. The county has a substantial population – about 43,000 – and is even seeing some growth. “We have business and industry in Coffee County, with jobs,” she says. “We’ve got businesses and industries that are hiring and large employers who provide insurance options.”

The hospital has an active outpatient rehab facility and a high surgery volume, as well as a thriving orthopedic practice and busy cardiology and oncology services.

Nonetheless, it took a financial hit from COVID. “We have an unfavorable payer mix,” she says, “made up of a lot of patients who are uninsured, a high percentage of self-pay, high percentage of Medicaid, high percentage of Medicare.”

The hospital stopped doing elective surgery for a while, which Lewis calls devastating. “We are very much dependent on surgical procedures and diagnostic procedures. We shut down elective procedures and diminished pretty dramatically some of the tests we were doing. That created a revenue deficit,” she says.

The crisis made a difference in the hospital’s day-to-day operations, too. “We have had a high census of COVID patients,” she says. “The numbers of staff members and numbers of bedside caregivers required for each patient is higher than it was before COVID. That’s because the patients are so ill. These are patients who have crises – a lot of respiratory symptoms, sometimes they go into kidney failure.

“The stress of the overall level of illness of each patient does take a toll. Many patients on ventilators are quite ill. We’ve been very, very fortunate that the vast majority of patients we’ve cared for have been discharged and gone home, but we have had several patients who have died. So that stress is there. Some of our staff have been ill as well.”

The hospital also saw changes in the emergency room. Creating a separate ER and ICU for COVID patients helped, but she says the volume of patients in the regular ER is still down. “Surgical volume is almost back. Cardiology volumes – we have an interventional cardiac cath lab – are back,” she says.

Vicki Lewis says the hospital is preparing its budget for next year and projecting a further erosion in the payer mix. She expects some of the changes brought by COVID will be permanent. “Once the vaccine rolls out, we’ll take the lessons learned and create a future pathway. We all have learned so much about this, and we’re going to take that to heart.”

Medicaid Expansion Needed

Ask the experts what would help rural hospitals most and you typically get a two-word answer: More Medicaid. Several studies have found that rural hospitals do better financially in states that have expanded Medicaid.

Georgia governors and legislative leaders have been reluctant to go the route of full Medicaid expansion provided by the Affordable Care Act, saying it was too costly. But the state applied for – and was granted by the federal government in October – help in the form of waivers that will allow some flexibility in how coverage is added. Estimates are that some 50,000 Georgians will be added to Medicaid rolls in the next two years, but approximately 350,000 will still be without coverage.

GHA’s Adams says the organization supports any effort to ensure access to affordable healthcare for all Georgians. “That does include [the] waivers,” he says. “That’s going to add additional citizens to an insurance roll that will ultimately help hospitals and providers. Anything we can do to help support access to affordable health insurance we are behind.”

Veazey says the waivers will “move the needle” a bit, but he favors full Medicaid expansion. “That would be the best thing we could do. If you want to see these hospitals continue to close, those populations continue to be underserved, then you don’t expand,” he says. “But to expand it would mean everyone would be insured in that [low-income] population group. They’re the ones that need it the most. Some have to drive 30 miles to see [a doctor]. They just don’t seek care. Then they get sicker. When they get sicker, someone finally gets them to the hospital, then we have our hands full.”

Technology Lifeline

It’s hard to find much good in a crisis that has claimed lives and sickened so many, but the pandemic has boosted the use of telemedicine significantly.

“The telehealth-telemedicine programs we have been talking about for years and years and years but just couldn’t quite get up and running have been huge during this time,” says Adams. Part of the problem of early adoption was some payers’ refusal to reimburse physicians and hospitals for telemedicine visits. But that changed when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid began to allow it.

“In an instant, telehealth became the buzzword and the tool to use,” says Jimmy Lewis, a long-time board member of the Blackshear-based Global Partnership for Telehealth. “Doctors started to realize it works, it really works,” and they became more comfortable using it.

He believes the technology will be used even more for monitoring patients with chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes. It’s a real benefit for rural Georgia, where there is a shortage of specialists – heart, pulmonary, urinary. With telemedicine, a rural patient can “see” (and be seen by) a doctor hundreds of miles away.

Even obvious obstacles for rural hospitals – cost and connectivity – are not so formidable as they once were, thanks to technology. A few years ago, for example, a telemedicine “cart” might have cost $40,000, Jimmy Lewis says. “That same equipment today has gone to cloud-based; you can do it for less than $10,000. The cost of implementation has plummeted.” And he believes broadband access will continue to improve.

Post-pandemic Solutions

For many rural facilities, partnerships or affiliations with larger hospitals and health systems are likely to improve their situation.

Those affiliations can work in several ways, says GHA’s Adams. Take, for example, a shared service model where a larger health system can provide specialty services that a smaller hospital lacks.

Such arrangements would benefit both the smaller and larger facilities, he says. “Larger hospitals are the ones that tended to be near capacity even before COVID, based on the ability for them to offer numerous services rural hospitals can’t have. That’s the type of business that’s going to go to those hospitals,” Adams says. “For those other acute care needs, our rural hospitals are perfectly capable of providing that quality and access to care. The road travels both ways – hospitals that develop those relationships have figured that out.”

But things are not going to be easy for the rural hospitals. Adams says ones that are struggling are going to continue to have problems and are going to have to rethink their service models. “It may be that what some of our rural hospitals have to do is kind of retool themselves to provide the care the community desires and needs – but maybe not in the traditional sense we know.”

Yet Adams remains a steadfast advocate of rural hospitals: “I think the pandemic has proven the need,” he says. “Without these hospitals, without the extra capacity to take care of patients when censuses are going through the roof, when patients are not able to travel – I can’t imagine what kind of issues we would have if we were not to have the rural hospitals we have.”

Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Barrow and NGMC Braselton were recently certified for the first time as Primary Stroke Centers by DNV GL Healthcare, shortly after NGMC Gainesville was recertified as a Primary Stroke Center.

“Our health system continues to prove that it is dedicated to ensuring stroke patients in our region are offered the best care close to home,” said Dr. Sung Lee, NGMC’s medical director of Neurointerventional Surgery. “With three of our hospital campuses now certified as Primary Stroke Centers, patients can rest assured that if they arrive with stroke symptoms, they will receive quick care from a skilled and passionate team.”

Primary Stroke Center certification means that a hospital can provide treatment to a broad range of stroke conditions along with some acute therapies, and admit patients to a designated stroke unit specifically assigned for stroke care. Primary Stroke Centers also act as a resource center for other facilities in the region, including being a main transfer site for stabilized stroke patients.

“We work hard to make sure our community is educated on the signs and symptoms of stroke,” said Tina Johnson, Stroke Program coordinator at NGMC Barrow. “That way, if someone sees a person suffering a stroke, or feels like they’re suffering one themselves, they know exactly what to do and where to get treated.”

Before their certification, NGMC Barrow and NGMC Braselton were designated Remote Treatment Stroke Centers by the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Along with NGMC Gainesville’s recertification, the hospital recently completed construction on a new, state-of-the-art Neurointerventional Lab, furthering its stroke treatment with the ability to perform mechanical thrombectomies.

“Time is of the essence when it comes to stroke,” said Tracie Withington, Stroke Program coordinator at NGMC Braselton. “We’ve worked diligently to ensure that we provide stroke care in a timely manner and now, being recognized as a Primary Stroke Center, patients can trust that even more.”

To learn more about NGMC’s Primary Stroke Centers in Barrow, Braselton or Gainesville, visit nghs.com/stroke-care.

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Robotic knee surgery data indicates the technology has the potential to speed recovery and improve accuracy compared to standard procedures. If you live in Camden County and need knee surgery, Southeast Georgia Health System has some good news– robotic knee surgery technology is now available at the Health System’s Camden Campus.

The ROSA® Knee System provides precision guidance for surgeons who perform Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA), also known as a Total Knee Replacement (TKR), restore mobility to people struggling with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, degenerative joint disease, or a traumatic injury. Degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis can cause pain, swelling, knee locking and eventually, bone-on-bone knee pain.

“ROSA’s leading-edge technology reflects the Health System’s commitment to our hospital and community. The Brunswick Campus has successfully used the MAKO robotic technology for years. Our orthopaedic surgeons can now offer Camden County residents the same high-level patient experience,” said Glenn Gann, vice president and administrator of the Camden Campus.

Orthopaedic surgeons J. Melvin Deese Jr., M.D. and Christopher Yonz, M.D., trained in the ROSA method. Both practice at Summit Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Surgery. They see several advantages to the new technology. “Because the ROSA was designed by surgeons, it allows us to make decisions during surgery that result in a well-balanced, well-aligned knee implant,” said Yonz.

“By providing real-time information on how a patient’s knee responds to different movements, we can properly align the limb,” explained Yonz, referring to ROSA’s tracking system which sends patient data to a surgeon during the procedure.

Deese elaborated further. “Using the data on the patient’s anatomy and soft tissue surrounding the knee, we’re able to create a very precise reconstruction plan.” In simplest terms, ROSA helps surgeons understand each patient’s unique anatomy so they can more closely match the size and shape of a knee implant to the patient.

“ROSA even helps match an implant to the patient’s gender, ethnicity and stature,” Yonz added.

Asked to highlight the technology’s most important feature, Deese said, “We can perform a ‘virtual knee replacement’ before making the first incision, which allows for the most accurate position and placement of the total knee components.”

ROSA’s efficient imaging system also reduces the patient’s exposure to radiation and the cost of imaging. “Investing in this technology further demonstrates our commitment to providing service excellence and improving patient care. Our physicians deserve to work with the latest technologies and our patients deserve to have the best care close to home,” said Gann.

To find out if you are a candidate for ROSA knee replacement, schedule a consultation with Dr. Deese or Dr. Yonz by calling Summit Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Surgery at 912-576-6355.

About Southeast Georgia Health System
Southeast Georgia Health System is a not-for-profit health system comprised of two acute care hospitals, two long term care facilities, three immediate care centers, five family medicine centers and numerous employed physician practices. The Health System has multiple outpatient specialty care centers, including the only CyberKnife^® M6 Program in Georgia, and a Cancer Care Center accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. The Health System is part of Coastal Community Health, a regional affiliation between Baptist Health and Southeast Georgia Health System forming a highly integrated hospital network focused on significant initiatives designed to enhance the quality and value of care provided to our contiguous communities. For more information, visit sghs.org.

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Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) plans to grow its hospital in Gainesville to meet the growing needs of the surrounding region by adding a new, multi-story tower as early as 2024. This future tower is part of Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Gainesville’s continued evolution into one of the state’s largest and most advanced community-based, non-profit hospitals. The tower, which will be located next to the existing North Patient Tower, will pave the way for several anticipated improvements including:

• Moving the existing Emergency Department – among the busiest in the state – to the ground floor of the new tower and expanding the department to care for more people quickly and efficiently
• Providing expanded and convenient access for advanced heart care including general and interventional cardiology, heart failure treatment, electrophysiology, structural heart program, cardiovascular surgery and more
• Creating a new helipad on the roof of the tower, which will mean faster and more efficient access to support life-saving trauma, heart, stroke and surgical care
• Adding more operating rooms to expand available surgeries and procedures to treat complex stroke, neurosurgery, cancer and vascular cases
• Adding more than 150 new beds for inpatient care
• Adding a parking deck with hundreds of new parking spaces for patients and visitors
• Adding the ability to care for more patients while also creating an opportunity for future renovation of the South Tower

Timelines may shift depending on potential changes in the overall healthcare needs of the community. Between 700 – 2,000 workers are expected to be on-site for planning and construction at any given time as the project progresses.

            “We’ve started referring to our future expansion and improvement projects as ‘Growing the Greater Good,’” says Carol Burrell, president and CEO of Northeast Georgia Health System. “That phrase is a reminder that when we grow facilities to care for more patients and expand our clinical services, we’re ultimately reinvesting in the overall health of our region.

“Any time we add a new building, it’s a new place where we are helping people in many ways – whether it’s providing a new service, creating new jobs or simply lifting the spirits of a community. These projects go way beyond brick and mortar.”

            NGMC Gainesville’s Emergency Department is routinely among the busiest in the state. Moving the department to the future tower will create a more efficient space to help meet the growing need for emergency and trauma care in the community. The expanded space will also support training needs for an Emergency Medicine physician residency program, which NGMC hopes to add in the coming year – as it continues to empower the physician leaders of tomorrow.

While planning for the future tower is underway, other improvement projects will continue.

            “We have a team that’s evaluating ways to improve how we move patients through the hospital more efficiently, while maintaining high-quality care that will get them back home to their loved ones as quickly as possible,” says Michael Covert, NGHS chief operating officer. “That includes reducing wait times in all parts of a patient’s journey, often starting with the Emergency Department.”

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Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) saw a surge in COVID-19 cases over the holiday weekend with 181 confirmed cases admitted on Tuesday, December 1, at its hospitals and long-term care facilities combined. The numbers of those needing testing and care are expected to continue rising in the coming days and weeks.

“Both the percentage of tests coming back positive and the number of people who need to be admitted to the hospital have been steadily climbing all month – to today’s record high for the system,” said Clifton Hastings, MD, Chief of Medical Staff for Northeast Georgia Medical System. “We’re headed for a new peak and the only question is, how high will this peak be?”

            NGHS also anticipates an increase in the number of people seeking COVID-19 testing in the coming weeks.

“Not only are more people seeking the test because they’re ill, but we expect many will want to get tested so they’ll know whether it’s safe to see family during the holidays,” said Bobby Norris, vice president of operations for Northeast Georgia Physicians Group. “We absolutely want people who think they’re sick to get tested so they can take precautions to protect others, but we also want to avoid premature testing that gives people a false sense of security.”

            While they are more readily available now than they were at the onset of the pandemic, testing supplies are still limited, and for most, there is a two- to three-day wait for test results. To help you navigate COVID-19 testing successfully, here are some frequently asked questions:

1. When and where should I get tested if I have been exposed?

The incubation period for COVID-19 is 14 days, and most patients show symptoms between five and seven days after exposure. It is best to wait 7-10 days after exposure – or earlier if symptoms appear – to be tested. Remember, if you’ve been exposed, you should quarantine following CDC guidelines. To find a testing location near you, visit www.nghs.com/covid-19/testing.

1. Am I eligible for the rapid test?

Symptomatic first responders, healthcare workers and some high-risk patients may get a rapid test depending on availability.

1. How long will it take to get my results back?

Rapid tests are processed in a matter of hours. All other COVID-19 tests are sent out for processing and returned within two to three business days when the labs can keep up with demand. We have seen surges in testing that caused additional delays at area labs because there were simply too many tests to keep up – and that kind of surge may be possible if the numbers of cases in our community continue to rise.

1. Should I get a test before seeing family for the holidays?

If you can find a location with enough supplies to accommodate testing for an asymptomatic patient, it’s important to remember:

1. The test takes two to three business days to process.
2. You may still be exposed to or come down with the virus at any time after testing.
3. That’s why it’s still important to take precautions and plan lower risk activities like small events for just your household or virtual gatherings so you can visit with loved ones remotely.

            “We know people are tired of hearing about wearing masks, washing hands and watching their distance,” said Dr. Hastings. “Trust me, our nurses, doctors and other staff are tired, too. But those are the only actions that can limit the spread of the virus. The entire spirit of the holidays is to think about others first and doing whatever you can to help them, so I hope everyone really takes that to heart and protects the people they love the most.”

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St. Mary’s Health Care System and its colleagues and volunteers on the Monday before Thanksgiving donated 365 turkeys – weighing more than 6,200 pounds and with a value of more than $9,300 – to the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, the Greene County Food Pantry and Iris Chandler Ministries to help families in need this holiday season.

Each year, St. Mary’s gives a free turkey to each colleague and volunteer as a token of appreciation for their dedication and service. During the week before Thanksgiving, St. Mary’s leaders personally hand out frozen turkeys at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens, St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia, and St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital in Greensboro, as well as at ancillary facilities in Athens, Bogart and Watkinsville. Each turkey comes with safe cooking information and preparation tips provided by St. Mary’s food service partner, Metz Culinary.

St. Mary’s makes it easy for colleagues to donate their turkey to those in need, if they wish to do so, by letting Human Resources know they want to donate their turkey or by simply not picking it up. The Food Bank picks up the majority of the donated turkeys on the Monday before Thanksgiving and the other charities receive their turkeys at roughly the same time.

“Every year I’m amazed and moved by the number of colleagues who choose to donate their turkey, but especially this year,” said Montez Carter, St. Mary’s President and CEO. “We have been doing this for more than 10 years, and this is one of the biggest donations we have ever made.

“St. Mary’s and our colleagues are keenly aware that the pandemic has left many more people struggling with food insecurity,” Carter said. “We’re thrilled that hundreds of colleagues and volunteers love getting these turkeys, and we’re just as thrilled that so many donated them to help others in this time of need. It’s a true testament to our core value of commitment to those who are poor.”

Chuck Toney, executive director of the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, said the Food Bank

distributed the 290 turkeys it received to partner agencies for distribution to people in need in the communities those agencies serve.

“St. Mary’s has blessed the community and hundreds of families for many years through the donation of turkeys for Thanksgiving,” Toney said, noting that the charity has seen a 40 percent increase in need this year due to the pandemic. “God bless all of you and thank you for working through the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia to feed our neighbors in need.”

The Food Bank in 2019 provided 12 million pounds of food to families through more than 225 soup kitchens, food pantries, senior centers, churches and other non-profit hunger relief organizations in 14 counties: Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Franklin, Habersham, Hart, Jackson, Madison, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Rabun, Stephens, Towns and White.

In Greene County, colleagues and volunteers with St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital donated 50 turkeys to the Greene County Food Pantry. Since its founding in 2007, the charity has served more than 5,500 families, and over 60 percent of those assisted are senior citizens living below the poverty level.

New this year, St. Mary’s also donated 25 turkeys to Iris Chandler Ministries, a nonprofit outreach ministry in the Athens area that provides financial and other forms of support to disadvantaged families, visits the sick, assists those in nursing homes, and helps those who have suffered a loss.

For more information about the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia and the agencies with which it partners, visit www.foodbanknega.org. For more information about the Greene County Food Pantry, visit https://locc.co/serving/hunger/greene-county-food-pantry/. For more information about Iris Chandler Ministries, please visit their Facebook page.

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Hospital is first healthcare organization in Georgia – and second organization in the state – to receive the award

Wellstar Health System, one of Georgia’s largest and most integrated healthcare systems, today announced that Wellstar Paulding Hospital has been awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest level of recognition for performance excellence. Wellstar Paulding Hospital is the first healthcare organization in the state of Georgia to receive this award and the second organization in Georgia to ever receive it. The award is the nation’s only presidential award for performance excellence, recognizing U.S. organizations and businesses that have shown an unceasing drive for innovative solutions to complex challenges, visionary leadership, and operational excellence.

“We are honored that Wellstar Paulding Hospital, one of 11 hospitals in our system, is the first healthcare organization in the state to receive this award,” said Candice L. Saunders, president and CEO of Wellstar Health System. “This recognition is the result of our physicians, caregivers, and team members uniting around our shared vision – to deliver world-class healthcare to every person, every time. We are so proud of the Wellstar Paulding team for exemplifying what it means to be neighbors caring for neighbors and we are also grateful for the important work they do caring for their community.”

Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the Baldrige Award was established by Congress in 1987 to enhance the competitiveness and performance of U.S. businesses. Since the first group was recognized in 1988, 134 national-level awards have been presented to 124 organizations. The awards are handed out annually by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and are considered the most prestigious U.S. recognition of quality performance. The six categories in which the awards are given include manufacturing, service, small business, education, nonprofit and healthcare — the category in which Wellstar Paulding Hospital won.

“Our team at Wellstar Paulding Hospital is honored and humbled to receive this award. Participating in the Baldrige program has challenged us to meet and exceed the high standards set by the organization,” said Wellstar Paulding Hospital President John Kueven. “We are committed to continually pursuing excellence and improving our processes while remaining focused on our mission to enhance the health and well-being of every person we serve.”

Highlights of Award-Winning Achievements Following a comprehensive virtual site visit, Baldrige Award examiners noted several outstanding achievements that led to their choice of Wellstar Paulding Hospital as one of the six national award recipients for 2020, including:

• Top 10% performance for its mortality index and for inpatient complications index within the national IBM Watson Health Top 100 Hospitals ® index.

• Top 10% in the nation for a sustained pressure ulcer rate of zero.

• Top 10% performance in the nation and rates in the top 100 of 1,800 organizations in all industries for team member engagement based on The Great Place to Work ® Trust Index © survey results.

Previously, Wellstar Paulding Hospital received the 2019 Oglethorpe Award – Georgia’s highest level of recognition for organizational performance excellence and a milestone on the national Baldrige Award journey.

NIST manages the Baldrige Award in cooperation with the private sector. An independent panel of judges reviewed the evaluations performed by the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program’s all-volunteer Board of Examiners and recommended this year’s award recipients from a field of 20 applicants. The expert Baldrige judges evaluate organizations in seven areas defined by the Baldrige Excellence Framework: leadership; strategy; customers; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce; operations; and results.

ABOUT WELLSTAR HEALTH SYSTEM At Wellstar, people are at the center of everything we do. By listening actively to what people want, need and expect from their healthcare, Wellstar is able to provide “More than Healthcare. PeopleCare.” — at every age and stage. Nationally ranked and locally recognized for our personal, high-quality care, inclusive culture, and exceptional doctors and team members, Wellstar provides access to compassionate, high-quality care through our: 11 hospitals; 300+ medical office locations; 9 cancer centers; 74 rehabilitation centers; 3 hospice facilities; 1 retirement village; 29 imaging centers; 16 urgent care locations; and 5 health parks. As one of the largest and most integrated healthcare systems in Georgia, Wellstar is growing our services, footprint, capabilities, and ability to meet evolving patient needs. Our passion for people extends into the communities we serve. As a not-for-profit health system, we thoughtfully reinvest annually in prevention and wellness programs, as well as charity care for eligible patients. Our Wellstar Foundation also supports our mission to enhance the health and well-being of every person we serve with funding for equipment, services, and programs that provide more than healthcare. To learn more about how Wellstar is always listening, learning, and tailoring care to meet patients’ individual needs, visit wellstar.org.

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During November, the National Association for Home Care (NAHC) encourages all communities to celebrate National Home Care and Hospice Month, honoring the millions of nurses, home care aides, therapists and social workers who make a difference for the patients and families they serve.

“For the aged, disabled or ill, staying in the homes they know and love can become increasingly difficult unless they can get services they need to support them,” says Blake Nelson, director of Hamilton Home Health.

Home health care is medical care that is appropriate for people suffering from chronic illness or recovering from acute injury or illness who need skilled care to remain at home. Services include medication management, wound care, physical therapy, occupational therapy and other skilled services provided by licensed individuals. Some patients qualify for additional services such as home health aides and medical social workers when necessary to support skilled services.

Care requires a physician’s order and requires that the patient be under the care of a physician. Most insurers also require that the patient be homebound, meaning the patient only leaves home infrequently and it is very difficult to do so.

Home health care can be mistaken for personal or companion care (or non-medical care), which includes transportation, errands, light housekeeping, meal preparation and assistance with activities of daily living. Private sitters and some private and government agencies provide this type of care.

When a disease process has become terminal and patients and families are ready to shift the focus of care from curative treatment to comfort care and symptom control, hospice care allows patients to remain in familiar surroundings at the end of life. Hospice care provides support and education to the patient’s family during the patient’s time on hospice and for a specified time after the death of the patient.

Hospice provides four levels of care, including routine home care, respite care, general inpatient care and continuous home care. These levels are determined based on the patient’s needs and can be provided in the home, in a nursing home or assisted living facility or, in some cases, in the hospital.

“Choosing to receive hospice care does not mean you are giving up hope or that death is imminent. Hospice care allows the patient to live every day to the fullest,” says Lauren Jones, administrator and clinical manager for Hamilton Hospice. “The earlier someone receives hospice care, the more opportunity there is to stabilize his or her medical condition and address other needs. Some patients actually improve and may be discharged from hospice care.

Jones says one of the biggest fears of terminally ill patients is losing control of making their own decisions. “Utilizing a hospice program allows the patient and their loved ones to voice their opinions and concerns while being a part of creating their own plan of care with our interdisciplinary team as a whole,” she says.

Hospice focuses on comfort, dignity and emotional support.

“The quality of life for the patient, but also family members and others, who are caregivers, is the highest priority,” says Jones.

Hospice is appropriate when patients with a life-limiting illness discover that continued aggressive disease treatment is no longer effective, beneficial or desired.  

“This type of care not only ensures that symptoms are managed and medications and equipment are provided, but it also supports families and assists them in dealing with the emotional and physical strain that can accompany end-of-life situations,” Jones says.

Hospice care is a benefit of Medicare and most private insurers as long as the patient continues to meet the necessary criteria. The benefit pays for all care, equipment (including hospital beds and oxygen) and medications associated with the patient’s terminal diagnosis. Hamilton Hospice is committed to caring for all patients, regardless of an individual’s ability to pay.

Patients may revoke their hospice benefit at any time if they feel the need to resume more aggressive care. Patients can also re-enroll in hospice as their condition worsens.

For more information, please visit hamiltonhealth.com/services or call Hamilton Home Health at 706-226-2848 or Hamilton Hospice at 706-278-2848.

Home health and hospice are part of the continuum of services that are provided by Hamilton Health Care System, which also includes hospital care, cardiovascular services, rehabilitation and wellness, ambulatory infusion, cancer care, behavioral health, long-term care, wound care and others.

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South Georgia Medical Center honored its laboratory professionals as the November Hospital Heroes at its monthly Board of Directors meeting. 

According to Chief Nursing Officer Randy Smith, “Nurses and doctors all over the world are doing a phenomenal job day in and day out, but the role of lab professionals can not be overlooked as they have truly been some of the unsung heroes in the fight against COVID-19.”

It was the foresight of Laboratory leadership in obtaining necessary equipment and testing platforms early on that set the stage for appropriate treatment and triage of patients within the hospital. To date, SGMC has three in-house testing platforms and more than 40,800 samples have been collected and tested.

Additionally, the laboratory plays a critical role in the antibody testing and collection of convalescent plasma, providing blood products to help treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Smith said, “Thank you for your commitment, dedication, critical-thinking and your problem solving skills. You have shown amazing resilience as you have adapted to evolutionary changes that have come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies regarding the understanding of this virus. You are all amazing and true heroes!”